Tank explosion kills one - Cozumel

[widget]

Hopefully this won't come off too snarky but I'm of the mindset that it's always going to be cheaper to buy the guy a new tank than it ever will be to pay off the estate for wrongful death.

I get where you're coming from on this but I'd rather see someone being proactive about disabling the tank than reactive after an explosion. One way around all this would be to include a statement in whatever paperwork you have the customer sign prior to hydro and maybe even eddy tests. If cracks are found or the tank doesn't pass hydro, it will be disabled. If you don't want to sign, you're free to take your take the tank somewhere else and have it tested under less stringent conditions.

- Ken

Sure, I hear you, but the system is designed to allow the customer the right of a second opinion, I think this is a good thing. Sometimes even the best of us can get it wrong. and that would compromise the rights of the owner.

The customer can still agree to the destruction of the cylinder should it fail, but no station can destroy that cylinder without the client agreeing. That would be illegal.

Standards here for tests as I said in my previous post are heavily controlled by Sanas, and reputable shops and charters will never risk filling an untested or out of date cylinder, so even if the client refuses to have the cylinder destroyed, the chances of it getting back into the system from my experience are very unlikely.

 

[Ken Kurtis]

Not to start a pissing match here but . . .

I didn't know that tumbling a tank restores its' structural integrity . . .

I never said it did. I said it allows it to pass visual inspection. Different animals.

. . . will prevent a tank explosion from occurring during the remaining time period on an annual sticker and will save a person's life.

I never said it did. I said it allows it to pass visual inspection. Different animals.

So salt build up and corrosion strengthen burst discs . . .

I never said it did. I said the salt corrosion/rust over a burst disc can effectively disable it and if the salt/rust is stronger, then the burst disc doesn't blow.

. . . and tumbling actually increase the strength of the materials..

I never said it did. I said it allows it to pass visual inspection.

This is like having a conversation with Fox News about the success and effectiveness of Obamacare . . .



- Ken

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I've never seen a burst disc with rust on it. I've never seen one made of steel or iron, have you?

 

[chillyinCanada]

DD, don't think that's what Ken is describing. Not the bust disk buddy crap thst has built up over it from the tsnk and poor maintenance.

---------- Post added September 17th, 2014 at 02:02 AM ----------

DD, don't think that's what Ken is describing. Not the bust disk but crap that has built up over it from the tank and poor maintenance.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

DD, don't think that's what Ken is describing. Not the bust disk buddy crap thst has built up over it from the tsnk and poor maintenance.

---------- Post added September 17th, 2014 at 02:02 AM ----------

DD, don't think that's what Ken is describing. Not the bust disk but crap that has built up over it from the tank and poor maintenance.

He mentions rust... Ferrous (ferric) oxide? I forget now... Needs iron.. just asking what iron is used? He seems to indicate it is the burst disc, that is why I asked..

 

[harmonised]

Crook your index finger, ok?

No thanks, I was expecting a scientific answer like I received from flots am.

 

[Doc Harry]

While most of us are used to getting our cylinders inspected annually, the recommended time schedule for visual inspections actually depends on the frequency of use.

For a busy dive operation with a busy dive schdule, the recommended VIP schedule is fairly frequently. if I recall correctly it is every 3 months.

 

[boulderjohn]

While most of us are used to getting our cylinders inspected annually, the recommended time schedule for visual inspections actually depends on the frequency of use.

For a busy dive operation with a busy dive schdule, the recommended VIP schedule is fairly frequently. if I recall correctly it is every 3 months.

Recommended by whom?

 

[finnks]

While most of us are used to getting our cylinders inspected annually, the recommended time schedule for visual inspections actually depends on the frequency of use.

For a busy dive operation with a busy dive schedule, the recommended VIP schedule is fairly frequently. if I recall correctly it is every 3 months.

I vaguely remember reading a manufacturer suggesting visual inspection annually or every 200 fills, whichever comes first. I could potentially see an unbelievably busy liveaboard with 5 days - 6 days a week getting 30 fills a week. That would be an inspection every 7 weeks, considerably more often than 3 months. OTOH doubt the typical customer actually does 30 per week, or that most liveaboards sustain full booking every week with no weather or mechanical cancellations or scheduled downtime. Also while filling and emptying a tank are the largest stresses most tanks experience - banging about, being left in hot spaces (car trunk...) and long term storage at high pressure all contribute. Thus cycling a tank 200 time in 3 months is probably slightly less likely to damage it than cycling 200 times over a year - stored full in a car trunk between dive.

Doubt most operators in 2nd or 3rd world countries adhere to even minimal annual Visuals. Any idea whether any US based operators do higher frequency VIPs? I what I've seen of typical usage, other than liveaboards I doubt many tanks get close to 200 fills a year.

 

[jumppilot]

Recommended by whom?

Luxfer, for one.


http://www.luxfercylinders.com/9/download/download